Highlights of Japan Holiday

Classic journey to Japan including all the highlights, perfect for a first time visitor

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13 days

from $4,050pp (excluding flights)

This classic Japan holiday includes many of the iconic highlights conjured up when one thinks of Japan and offers a wonderful combination of both modern and classical highlights of the country.

See some traditional Japanese theatre at the Kabukiza in Tokyo

Travel to Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park for hot springs and stunning views of Mount Fuji

Ride Japan's world famous bullet train to Hiroshima

Visit the UNESCO World Heritage shrine of Miyajima Island

Lose yourself in the former Imperial Capital of Kyoto - the "Japan of old"

Stay in a Japanese Roykan and feast on a traditional Kaiseki dinner

Begin your holiday exploring the cutting edge city of Tokyo, using the city’s comprehensive public transport system. From the sacred Mount Fuji take the bullet train to Hiroshimo then onto the ancient city of Kyoto, the perfect end for a first time visit.

For a more detailed itinerary with great ideas on what to do and where to stay, please get in touch with our experts.

PLEASE NOTE THE COST SHOWN INCLUDES INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS DEPARTING FROM THE UK, BASED ON AN APPROXIMATE AIR FARE. PLEASE ASK YOUR TRAVEL EXPERT FOR AN ACCURATE INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT QUOTE. INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS DEPARTING FROM THE UK ARE ATOL PROTECTED.

Itinerary at a glance

Japan is an intriguing blend of the resolutely traditional and the restlessly innovative - and nowhere typifies this more so than Tokyo. Look beyond its futuristic façade and you will discover a different Tokyo, where ancient traditions and customs are quietly maintained. An enthralling and captivating city of many layers, it is an essential place to visit for any keen traveller.

Full Day Sightseeing of Tokyo using Public TransportFree day to explore Tokyo at your leisure Visit this fascinating city making use of Tokyo’s comprehensive and user friendly public transport system. Start the day with a visit to Hamarikyu garden, an Edo Period Japanese garden surrounded by the Shiodome district’s futuristic skyscrapers. Perhaps stop for a cup of steaming macha in a tea house on a small island in the park’s lake, take a boat cruise on the Sumida River. Disembark in Asakusa, Tokyo’s old town and soak in the atmosphere of the Tokyo of old. Visit Sensoji, Tokyo’s oldest temple and wander down Nakamise, a shopping street that has been providing temple visitors with a variety of traditional, local snacks and tourist souvenirs for centuries.

In the afternoon take the subway across town to Meiji Shrine, a shrine dedicated to the deified spirit of Emperor Meiji and a popular place for traditional Japanese weddings. If time permits, take a walk down Omotesando shopping street, a broad tree lined avenue home to the flagship stores of the world’s top fashion brands.

Full Day Sightseeing around Hakone & Mount FujiToday you will explore the Fuji/Hakone National Park, located only 90 minutes from Tokyo by private car and guide. Ride the world’s second longest cable car up Mt Owakudani, passing over sulfurous fumes, hot springs and hot rivers in this volcanic area, where you can eat an egg hard boiled in the sulfuric hot springs which make Hakone famous. If you do, it will add seven years to your life.

A majestic replica pirate ship will sweep you across the Lake Ashinoko, a lake formed by a volcanic eruption 3000 years ago.Hakone used to be an important checkpoint to control traffic along the Tokaido highway which linked Tokyo with Kyoto during the feudal Edo Period. You can visit the Hakone Checkpoint to see the gates, fence, housing for officers and foot soldiers, a prison chamber and a lookout tower.

Last stop of the day is the Hakone Open Air Museum, which successfully attempts to create a harmonic balance of nature and art by exhibiting various sculptures on its spacious grounds in combination with beautiful views of the surrounding valley and mountains. Besides the sculptures, the Hakone Open Air Museum features various indoor galleries, including a sizable Picasso Collection, consisting of paintings, prints, sculptures and ceramic creations. You can also relax your tired feet with soak in the hot spring foot bath.

Throughout the day you will have the chance to get a glimpse of Mt Fuji, however please keep in mind that she is a notoriously shy mountain and it needs to be a clear day.

Today you will ride Japan’s world famous Shinkansen bullet train to Hiroshima. Capable of speeds of up to 185mph (360km/h), the Shinkansen takes 4 hours to reach Hiroshima.

Hiroshima is notorious for its destruction when the first atomic bomb was dropped over the city during the Second World War in August 1945. The destructive power of the bomb obliterated nearly everything within a two kilometre radius. From this absolute annihilation, Hiroshima has emerged phoenix-like, and become a beacon of hope and peace for the rest of mankind.

Full Day City TourYour guide will meet you in the hotel lobby for your private tour. Starting with the Peace Memorial Park which was at the centre of the atomic blast and is the site for the annual Peace Memorial Service on 6th August. The stone arch in the centre of the park is a memorial to the victims of the blast and the stone hut under the arch contains a list of the names of those who died. Next to the Peace Memorial Park is the Peace Memorial Museum, where inside are relics from the blast such as a bottle that has been twisted like limp clay, stone steps on which the shadow of a person has been burnt, white walls with radioactive ’black rain’ on them.

From Hiroshima, a short ferry ride will take you to Miyajima Island, a World Heritage site. Visit Itsukushima Shrine, whose large red gateway stands in the middle of the sea, 16 metres high. The shrine pathway, which is lined with stone lanterns takes you alongside Mikasahama beach, where you will see the magnificent main shrine building, painted in red lacquer and standing out against the thick green trees. The Homotsukan Treasure House behind the main shrine displays historic masks and musical instruments used in court song and dance performances, works of art, and weapons and armour donated by warlords. You will have time to explore the island and it's many shrines and temples before heading back to your hotel.

Travel on the Shinkansen train to Kyoto, a journey of approximately 2 hours.

Kyoto is quintessentially Japan. Peaceful temples, lavish gardens, and majestic palaces combine to create a slice of Japan at its purest and most distilled. Witness Geishas darting from one liaison to the next, or amble through one of the famous bamboo thickets. The home of Japanese cuisine and wearing its rich culture on its sleeve, Kyoto is a truly magical city.

Full Day City TourThis morning your private guide will meet you in the hotel lobby at 9am.

Start the day with a visit to Kinkakuji Temple (Golden Pavilion), which was originally built as a retirement villa for the Shogun. After his death it became a Buddhist Temple at his request, and is now one of Kyoto’s most famous temples.

Nijo Castle is an ornamental castle, built by the founder of the Edo Shogunate as his Kyoto residence and is surrounded by stunning gardens. The main building was completed in 1603, and is famous for its architecture, decorated sliding doors and ‘chirping’ nightingale floors.

Take a walk down Nishiki Market, a narrow, five block long shopping street lined by more than one hundred shops and restaurants. Known as "Kyoto's Kitchen", this lively retail market specialises in all things food related, like fresh seafood, produce, knives and cookware, and is a great place to find seasonal foods and Kyoto specialties, such as Japanese sweets, pickles, dried seafood and sushi.

Final stop today is Kiyomizu (Pure Water) Temple. From the 13m high veranda jutting out from the Main Hall you can enjoy amazing views of the whole of Kyoto, whilst pondering the fact that both the Main Hall and Veranda were built without the use of nails or any kind of joiners.

Half Day Sightseeing of NaraVisit Todaiji temple, the world’s largest wooden building and home to Japan’s largest Buddha. Next stop is Nara’s most celebrated shrine, Kasuga Taisha, established in 768 AD and famous for its hundreds of bronze and stone lanterns which have been donated by worshipers. Shin-Yakushiji Temple was founded during the Nara Period (710-794) by an empress for the sake of the ailing emperor. It is devoted to Yakushi Buddha, the patron of medicine in Japanese Buddhism. Inside the main hall there are life size statues of 12 guardian deities surrounding a two metre tall statue of a seated Yakushi Buddha, which are the temple's main objects of worship. Take a wander through Nara Park, called Deer park by locals due to the large population of more than 1,000 tame deer living there.For 74 years during the 8th century Nara was Japan’s capital and many of the temples and shrines built at that time still remain.